This easy Vegetarian Enchiladas recipe has the best flavorful veggie filling from sweet potatoes, black beans, bell pepper and brown rice. It’s a hearty, healthy dinner your whole family will love!
In case you haven’t noticed, I’m CRAZY about Mexican food! Don’t miss my Pork Carnitas, Street Corn Dip, Horchata, or Tacos Al Pastor!
Even my meat loving family would agree that these Vegetarian Enchiladas hit the spot every. single. time. They’re so flavorful and filling and I always make them using my favorite homemade red enchilada sauce.
How to Make Vegetarian Enchiladas:
Sauté Veggies: Sauté sweet potato in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, until they begin to get tender. Add garlic, bell pepper, onion, and black beans and toss to combine. Cook until sweet potatoes are completely tender.
Add Rice: Add cooked rice and ¾ cup of the enchilada sauce then toss to combine.
Fill Tortillas: Add a big spoonful of filling along the edge of a tortilla and sprinkle with cheese. Roll the them tightly and then place, seam side down, in the pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.
Bake: Cover with sauce and cheese. You may not need to use all of it, depending on how much sauce you like. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top and bake at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes. Garnish with chopped avocado and cilantro.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Make the black bean enchiladas filling then store it separately in the refrigerator up to 2 days ahead of time. Assemble enchiladas when ready to bake. You can also make the enchilada sauce sauce several days in advance. Store in the fridge in an airtight container.
To Freeze: Make the sweet potato enchiladas through step 9 (roll the filling in tortillas but don’t cover them in sauce). Cover the pan with a double layer of tinfoil then freeze for 2-3 months. Allow the enchiladas to thaw overnight in the refrigerator then bake as directed.
Recipe Variations:
- Vegan Enchiladas: Leave out the cheese to make this vegan enchiladas.
- Add More Veggies: Sautéed broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, spinach, corn, butternut squash, chopped zucchini, or mushrooms would all make great additions.
- Green Sauce: You can also substitute the red sauce for green if you prefer.
More Vegetarian Meals?
- Bulgur Salad
- Spaghetti Pie
- Crispy Bean and Cheese Burritos
- Pesto Tortellini
- Chickpea Curry
- Thai Quinoa Salad
- Lettuce Wraps
- Red Curry
- Cheese Enchiladas
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Recipe
Vegetarian Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 batch homemade red enchilada sauce*
- 2 small/medium sweet potatoes , peeled and chopped into small pieces
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 bell pepper , diced (any color)
- 1/4 cup onion , chopped
- 15 ounce can black beans , drained and rinsed
- 10-12 large flour tortillas (or whole wheat)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese , divided
- fresh cilantro , Chopped (for topping)
- 1 avocado , peeled, seeded and chopped, for topping
Instructions
- Add the chopped sweet potato to a large skillet over medium heat. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, until they begin to get tender.
- Add 1 tsp minced garlic. Add chopped bell pepper, onions, and black beans and toss to combine. Cook for a few more minutes, until sweet potatoes are completely tender.
- Add cooked rice and ¾ cup of the enchilada sauce and toss to combine.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover the bottom of a large casserole dish with a thin layer of enchilada sauce.
- Add a big spoonful of filling along the edge of a tortilla and sprinkle with cheese. Roll tightly and place, seam side down, in the pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. Pour sauce over the enchiladas (you may not need to use all of it, depending on how much sauce you like). Sprinkle remaining cheese over top.
- Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20-30 minutes. Garnish with chopped avocado and cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
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*I originally shared this recipe January 2016. Updated January 2020 and August 2023.
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Absolutely delicious! Only thing that I changed, I roasted the onions, green peppers and sweet potatoes together in the oven. When they were finished, I mixed everything together and followed the rest of the recipe. The roasting of veggies gave everything a nice roasty toasty flavor. Yum!!
This is probably the dozenth time I’ve made these, theyre amazing! I always make 1.5x the sauce because this recipe makes so many and once you freeze or refrigerate, they tend to get dry. This is a great end of the week meal- the ingredients keep well while we use up groceries throughout the week, then we can throw in whatever extra veggies we have chopped up really small into the rice mix. We’ve done spinach, asparagus, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and the hidden veggies dont affect the flavor at all. I highly recommend making the homemade enchilada sauce, it is SO easy and it really makes a difference. and your house will smell amazing.
Awesome recipe! Whole family loved it (which is quite a feat to find something everybody likes). I had a leftover enchilada that I gave to my neighbor for a late night, coming home from the the hospital dinner and she also loved it. None of us are sweet potato fans but we all liked this.
Thank you! Hope to see more vegan, low cholesterol recipes.
I made these tonight with the homemade enchilada sauce. I love this recipe. I didn’t think I liked sweet potatoes because I don’t like them as fries, but you have changed my mind. These are so hearty, but don’t leave you feeling guilty. I made them just as directed, except I may have added a little extra cheese.
Hi – just to note the sauce above has beef broth, so these are not vegetarian, so it is misleading. But they sound delicious.
Thank you for your comment, Sheila! We appreciate your feedback and want to ensure our recipes are as accurate and helpful as possible. You’re absolutely right that the enchilada sauce in this recipe contains beef broth, which makes it unsuitable for vegetarians. While we do mention in the enchilada sauce post that you can substitute beef broth with vegetable broth, it’s always helpful to have that information reiterated in the comments for others to see. Thank you again for bringing this to our attention, and we hope you enjoy the recipe! 😊🍴
Can you change out beef broth for vegetable broth? Just asking.
I made these using your homemade enchilada sauce and served them with your authentic Mexican rice, which is the only Mexican rice recipe I use, and my husband and I thought they were delicious. Thank You for sharing
I made this tonight but I added sautéed mushrooms and used canned enchilada sauce. It was delicious! Everyone loved it! Will be making this often!!
Just made these tonight and oh my goodness they are sooooo delicious!! We are trying to become vegetarians and this recipe made me think it can be done! My 3 daughters loved them also! Definitely adding these to the rotation! 🙂
These things are so good. We aren’t vegetarian so I added rotisserie chicken, and skipped the rice because I’ve never used brown rice and couldn’t get it to cook right. 🤷🏻♀️ We didn’t miss it and everyone loved these enchiladas. I froze extras for my lunches. I also used your sauce recipe. 👍🏼 Next time we’re going to add scrambled eggs instead of the chicken and try for a breakfast variety.
I love this recipe, but I was wondering if you could update with the weights of ingredients? I have a gallon ziplock bag full of cubed sweet potatoes, and I don’t know how much of it I should use for this recipe? I appreciate all of the hard work you do here!
I have made these twice and love them more each time. Leftovers are as amazing. I was concerned about the 1/4 cup of chili powder in the enchilada sauce, then amazed at how perfect it was without the heat, but loads of flavor! Thanks. My 86 yr young mother likes them as well.
Isn’t there more than 8 carbs in the tortilla alone?
You should note that the enchilada sauce isn’t actually vegetarian. I was so excited to see a vegetarian enchilada recipe, but was quite disappointed to learn it’s not actually vegetarian with the sauce. I’d also love to see a not on the sauce with recommendations on how to make it vegetarian.
I just made this – I used 6 fresh tomatoes for the sauce but I don’t think it was enough! Will use more next time! Cooked sweet potatoes a bit longer too. Great recipe though, really easy to follow, thanks!😊
Excellent!! This was a hit! I followed it To a t. Success! Thank you.
I’ve made this recipe two times. It’s my favorite new recipe. I cooked the sweet potatoes longer because I like them soft. I also made extra filling (rice, beans, sweet potatoes, and added the red sauce) and froze it. So when I made it the second time I only had to thaw the filling, add the cheese, and roll it in the tortillas. This is delicious!
I made this today… i didn’t have any cheddar in my house but i had some ricotta… so i used some inside the wraps and just put the red sauce on top when i baked. No cheddar needed, it was delicious!!!!
Made this exactly as described, including making the homemade red sauce. My only addition was 2 cups of diced rotisserie chicken added into the filling. Delicious! I’m making it again this weekend for a social distancing post Cinco de Mayo small neighborhood gathering. Keep up the good work!
I have made this multiple times following the directions. I froze uncooked ones, wrapped individually, in freezer saran wrap and then placed them together in foil. Then they went into a freezer bag. Froze the sauce in another container. They turned out wonderfully. Thawed a couple of hours and then put them together. Thanks for the wonderful dinner.
First of all, please make the enchilada sauce from scratch following the link in the recipe. It is really easy to make and tastes better than any store bought or restaurant sauce. And yes, it does say a 1/4 CUP of chili powder, but it was surprisingly mild and balanced. The enchiladas have a rich flavor and are not too spicy if you are dining with younger children. We didn’t eat it all the first night, but was great the next day for leftover lunch.
These were a huge hit with my whole family(two hungry teens, a six year old, and Mom and Dad). Great meatless, filling, healthy recipe. Thank you!
Really delicious! My family really liked it.
Carnivore husband says “So delicious, I don’t miss the meat at all.” Demolished in one night! Thanks for making me a star!
looking for your recipe for homemade enchilada sauce
Thanks much, Mary
Hi Mary,
There is a link in the recipe and the post but here it is as well :)!
These are AMAZING!
I bought a Costco sized bag of Butternut Squash. Do you think I could sub for sweet potatoes in this recipe?
Absolutely, that would be delicious!
Oh. My. Goodness. My family and I are obsessed with this meal, to put it lightly! We’ve been making this dish at least once a month for the last year and a half, and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon. 🙂
Is this freezable?
Hi Nicole, I’ve never tried freezing these so I can’t say for sure how they would turn out…sorry to not be of more help!